


In over her head

by kitbug



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, lavellan didn't sign up for this shit, post-fade pre-balcony relationship nonsense, solas feels bad, you could make amber mosquitoes from this much sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 15:13:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12213423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitbug/pseuds/kitbug
Summary: Sometimes a girl just needs some encouragement and reassurance when she's stressed out from being saddled with the fate of the known world.





	In over her head

Ren made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat and flopped on her stomach across the bed.  “I don’t want to meet with the Marquis tomorrow,” she grumbled into the plush furs.  Her mood had plummeted since he’d pulled her from the tavern with a reminder of her duty.  It was understandable that she was less than pleased.

“That does not surprise me.”  Solas chuckled and peeled the woven leather wrappings from her feet.  He tapped her on the rear, and she obligingly rolled over and lifted her hips so he could pull her doeskin trousers off.  Drunk as she was, he knew that if left to her own devices, she’d have just passed out where she lay.  “You know it’s not you they’re pledging to, but the Inquisition.”

“Yes, it is,” she groaned, ears starting to flatten with irritation.  “You saw the way they all looked at me in the mountain pass.  It was bad enough before, when I  _ didn’t _ have to sit on a throne while they bow down to me.”

“Accept it as your due.”  After learning everything that had happened to his people since the fall of the Veil, he would by lying if he said he didn’t take a little perverse pleasure in seeing the human nobles bowing to the elven Inquisitor.  “Without you, they would likely have been killed by demons, and the Inquisition would have passed away from infighting months ago.”   


“It’s all so  _ stupid _ ,” she whispered, unfocused gaze staring up into the bed’s canopy.

He put her laundry in the basket for the servants to wash on the morrow and came back to the bed with the tissue-thin cotton shift she preferred to sleep in.  He looked down at her, concerned.  It wasn’t like her to engage in melancholy.  “What is troubling you, lethallan?”

Ren’s hands waved listlessly in the air above her.  “All of it.  ‘m a Dalish elf, leading an organization bound to a religion that’s persecuted our people for centuries just because I have a magic mark on my hand.”  She sat up and rubbed her bleary eyes with her hands.  It was then he noticed how tired and drawn out she was.  The anchor crackled slightly, an echo of her frustration.  “And now I’m supposed to be this savior of the world from an ancient Darkspawn magister.  It’s like some overwrought tale Varric would write.”

“Some would call it divine providence,” Solas countered, trying to keep his tone light, and attempted to peel her shirt off.   


She batted his hands away and grabbed the shift from him before disappearing behind the screen to finish changing.  “It’s  _ stupid _ .  I’m not qualified for this.  It was just an impulse to go in that room.”  When she reemerged, her face was crumpled and her ears pinned back flat against her head.  “I’m not a legendary grand hero.  I’m just… some elf.”

“You are much more than  _ some elf _ .”  He chided her gently.  “Your presence there may have been chance, but if you hadn’t gone to that cry for help…”

Solas felt the blood drain from his face.  If she hadn’t been there, or had ignored the cry for help, there would have been nothing they could do to stop Corypheus.  He did not have the power to seal the rifts without his artifact, and the magister would have gained access to the Fade unhindered.  The Inquisitor’s trip through time revealed exactly what would have happened if she had never been there at all, or if she fell before this was over.  They would never have stood a chance.  He hadn’t realized how close they had been to absolute ruin. It was--

“...Solas?”

He startled from his reverie to find her just inches away, peering up at him, green eyes searching his with concern.   


“You don’t look well.  Are you alright?”

“I apologize.  I was lost in thought.”  He shook his head and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.  “Someone else could have continued on walking past that plea for help.  Your actions thus far have proven that if you think you can help someone, you don’t hesitate to act.  A coward would have run.  You may be impulsive, but you mustn’t forget that you are also incredibly brave.”

Ren flushed at his statement and stared at the floor.  “Bravery doesn’t make someone a leader.”

“It doesn’t,” Solas agreed.  He snuck a hand under her chin to tilt her gaze back up.  “It also takes someone willing to make hard decisions and bear the consequences, good or ill.  It takes someone willing to accept criticism, and learn from her mistakes.  It takes someone who can unite and inspire those that follow them.  You are  _ all _ of these things.”

He let go, and this time when her gaze dropped, it didn’t go all the way back to the floor.  She tipped forward slightly until her forehead rested against his chest, and she muttered something unintelligible.  He couldn’t stop himself from encircling her in a gentle embrace or tucking her head under his chin.  He told himself it was purely for her benefit, that she needed comfort and reassurance, and tried to ignore the part of his mind that sang at how  _ right _ it felt to be holding her.

“You won’t be doing this alone,” he murmured into her hair.  “Cassandra may not always agree with you, but there’s no denying how much she respects and supports you.  Varric would do anything he could for you, sings your praises to any who’ll listen.  You’re far more to him than a hero out of his books.”

He could feel the tension melting in her shoulders and neck as he spoke, and continued.  “Dorian and Cole see you for the brilliant soul that you are.  They have come to love you in such a short time.  The Iron Bull, his Chargers, and Blackwall, they’ll stand steadfast against any who would try to harm you.  Same for Cullen and his men.”

She burrowed her head against him in embarrassment, but he could tell she was pleased when she didn’t tell him to stop.  Her ears were alert and upright again, craning to hear more.

“You have Vivienne and Josephine to help you navigate the politics, and Leliana is your eyes and ears across Thedas.  They won’t let you fail.”  He chuckled quietly.  “Even Sera will do her part and keep you grounded, and… take care of anyone who makes your life difficult.”

Ren drew back slightly and stared up into his eyes with a look that made his heart twist in his chest.  It was hopeful.  Longing.  Lonely.  Like looking into a mirror.  “And you?” she whispered.

“I... “  It would have been so easy to give in and give them both what they wanted.  She made what she desired no secret, but respected his request for consideration.  Solas pressed his lips to her forehead in a perfectly chaste kiss.  It would go no further than that.  He couldn’t allow it.  “It’s late. You have a busy schedule tomorrow.”

The small sigh she let out told volumes of her disappointment, but to her credit, she pressed it no further.  She pulled away from him, and his arms were slow to return to his sides.  “Yes.  You’re right.”  When he reached the door, she called out to him.  “I’m sorry I--”

Solas shook his head vehemently.  “You have nothing to apologize for.  I’m here for you.  Come what may, I’ll help you see this through.  You needn’t keep your mask on for my sake.”

He slid the door shut with a quiet click behind him, and returned to his rotunda.

**Author's Note:**

> This was painfully self-indulgent, but lol, isn't that the point of fanfiction? XD
> 
> tumblargh is [here](http://kittlesandbugs.tumblr.com) if you feel like swinging by to chat or whatevs


End file.
